View Full Version : Menghai Peacock
Hobbesoxon
10-14-2008, 11:27 AM
Fellas,
The tea has sailed (http://half-dipper.blogspot.com/2008/10/2007-jiuwan-tongqinghao-shupu.html), for those of you who wanted in. Do please send me your thoughts on it (or leave them here) and I'll collate them into an article.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t24/HobbesOxon/Snaps/Outbox_Oct08b.jpg
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
Scotto
10-14-2008, 11:29 AM
Excellent!! I'd be happy to pick up the next bing for deconstructing.
Suzuki
10-14-2008, 11:30 AM
Excellent!! I'd be happy to pick up the next bing for deconstructing.
And I'll take requests - anything that YS sells.
R-James
10-14-2008, 11:48 AM
Me to, PM me requests for a cake or leave em here. I will give you my thoughts on this when I have had a couple more sessions and tuned in my responses
Boing!:tongue_sm
I'm fermenting a bag of lawn clippings in my back yard for my contibution as we speak.
Hobbesoxon
10-14-2008, 03:31 PM
I suggest the 2008 Menghai 8582 - should be as cheap as chips!
Suzuki
10-14-2008, 05:11 PM
I suggest the 2008 Menghai 8582 - should be as cheap as chips!
Is there really a difference between the 801 and the 802 (first vs second batch using the same recipe)?
Hobbesoxon
10-15-2008, 12:55 AM
Sometimes, but I've not tried either of this year's. 801 would be your best shot, I suspect!
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
Scotto
10-15-2008, 05:40 AM
I was not a fan of the new Dayi 8582....
Hobbesoxon
10-15-2008, 08:29 AM
I was not a fan of the new Dayi 8582....
Ah, the first voice I've heard against it, so I'm very keen to hear what you found (or didn't find!) in it. What say you? :chinese:
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
Scotto
10-15-2008, 09:46 AM
Ah, the first voice I've heard against it, so I'm very keen to hear what you found (or didn't find!) in it. What say you? :chinese:
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
I think I still have some of the chunk that Jay sent me, so I can revisit it. My notes were "unimpressive, though the 3rd and 4th infusions have an interesting peach/apricot note that I like"
I tend to agree with Scott on this one. Good tea, but not impressive in any way. Surprisingly, I included some in the Tea Chat pu'er passaround, and everyone seemed to gush over it. Couldn't figure that for the life of me. I did buy a second cake (my first dupe) for the long haul anyway, as the price is right and I have nothing better to do.
netsurfr
10-18-2008, 05:11 PM
Received the tea in the mail today!
I am having my second infusion as I write this note.
I don't drink much shu but this is not bad at all.
I took the following steps with the tea:
Infused it twice for about 10 seconds to rinse it.
Infused it a third time for about 20 seconds for the first cup.
Infused it a fourth time for about 25 seconds for my second cup.
I find the tea to be very mellow with a somewhat earthy smell and taste on the palate (not unpleasant at all). The smell reminds me of a mixture of a nice leather and a lightly oiled wood smell. The feel on the tongue is very smooth on the tip of the tonge and moves to a slightly (only slightly) more astringent feel toward the back of the tongue.
The combination of the pleasing aroma and pleasant feel on the tongue is very relaxing.
I am not very good at describing my impressions of teas... guess I do not have a very sophisticated palate or nose for the nuances.
Scotto
10-18-2008, 05:29 PM
Hmmm, now I am confused. I thought that this was the 2008 "Peacock of Menghai", which is shengpu (raw).... I guess Sir Toodlepip will have to chime in for clarity.
R-James
10-19-2008, 12:57 AM
I have mine scott, i Thought it was Sheng...
Hobbesoxon
10-19-2008, 01:23 AM
Steve - great notes, thanks for taking the time to type them up.
Scotto and James - shengpu it is, jeps.
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
netsurfr
10-19-2008, 07:43 AM
Whoops, I was looking on your site and got confused since the note about the samples going out was embedded in another post about 2007 Jiuwan - Tongqinghao Shupu (http://half-dipper.blogspot.com/2008/10/2007-jiuwan-tongqinghao-shupu.html)
Have enjoyed the third and fourth infusions this morning and some more smokey notes are coming out along with a sweeter taste that hints of dark, ripe red cherries.
I am really enjoying this tea. Thanks again!
Scotto
10-20-2008, 04:59 PM
The Eagle has landed! I'll try to give it a whirl tomorrow if time allows. Smells great in the baggie, though.
Hobbesoxon
10-21-2008, 02:52 AM
Exxxxcellent, Smithers :ihih:
'08 Peacock of Menghai. (Mondo thanks to David!)
First off, this tastes nothing like peacock. :001_rolle
I found this to be a fairly mild brew, with minimal bitterness and chaqi. No odd tastes or sensations here, just a mildly building sweetness. Not much in the way of floral components, and it doesn't strike me as woody at all. Any mushroom flavor seems more along the line of the barely perceptible taste of auricula ("cloud ears/ tree mushrooms"), and fruit seems llimited to a muted rambutan. I seem to get hints of clove and sichuan pepper rather than a more overt camphor or menthol.
Price independent, this is a cake I'd be proud, if not thrilled, to have in the ever expanding pantry, but don't take that as a recommendation, as I'm still in the "I'm buying everything" mode. I'd like to try the others in the line before I'd commit. Still, it's a tasty, nice tea. With price considered, it really shows its charm. Most bings in the sub-$20 range are marginal at best (even if you like them) and are often total disapointments. This one doesn't rock my world, but if I purchased it blind, I'd think I did okay.
Scotto
10-21-2008, 09:31 AM
(I took the liberty of copying Ouch's post into this thread as well)
About 7g of broken leaf from the bottom of the baggie in a 100mL gaiwan. This is an incredibly perfumey tea. Lots of tropical fruit and a strong pollen-y note. That sweet perfume carries over into the taste; the body is decent and there is just enough bitterness to keep things in balance. Not much in the way of energy or other strange pu'er effects, but I like this a lot. Later infusions are redolent of sweet plum. This tea reminds me a bit of the Dehong brick; unassumingly charming, fruity, and a nice everyday treat. This is not an "intellectual tea" that you have to ponder its depths. It yields its charms easily.
Thanks be to the Toodle-meister. I like this tea very much.
But wait, there's more!
Subsequent infusions continue to impress. I dumped out after 12 infusions, which certifies this as a genuine IGP tea, and it was still going strong.
Also, I haven't stopped sneezing for the last two hours, so I've apparently picked up my daughter's rather nasty cold. Yuck. I'm sure I'm missing out on some notes here (previous notes were made, I can only assume, while I was already suffering but before the symptoms had manifested themselves), and I look forward to trying this one again when the old sniffer is better.
I look forward to tasting others in this series, particularly the Bulang and Mengsong, and I generally like the idea of a factory releasing a select issue that is not a limited, high end (and expensive) offering.
Suzuki
10-21-2008, 10:33 AM
Just got mine today - smells fantastic and I'll give it a go tomorrow.
Thanks David!
Hobbesoxon
10-23-2008, 03:40 AM
Great stuff!
Scotto
10-23-2008, 09:58 AM
I am having my second go around with this tea at work. I hope to try it under my more relaxing conditions at home with Yixing this weekend as well. This time things seem a bit thinner in body, but still quite a nice tea. Sort of reminds me of Juicy Fruit gum in a way. Simple, fruity, and yummy. I think the notion of a "drink it now" sort of tea is on the money. I am not sure it has legs to age.
Suzuki
10-23-2008, 11:51 AM
I am having my second go around with this tea at work. I hope to try it under my more relaxing conditions at home with Yixing this weekend as well. This time things seem a bit thinner in body, but still quite a nice tea. Sort of reminds me of Juicy Fruit gum in a way. Simple, fruity, and yummy. I think the notion of a "drink it now" sort of tea is on the money. I am not sure it has legs to age.
My thoughts exactly - good stuff, but its not knocking my socks off.
I'm on my second session, but at work, so not ideal brewing equipment - I'm not getting a lot of fruit and am getting a little more bitterness than I like, but I attribute that to my lack of familiarity with the correct leaf:water ratio.
I think it's important to consider that this was never meant to be a "knock you socks off" blend, just a hard working, honest, low priced effort. I'd judge it differently than I would a $50 cake of lao banzhang.
At $16, I've had a lot worse. In fact, most of them were.
Suzuki
10-23-2008, 02:58 PM
I think it's important to consider that this was never meant to be a "knock you socks off" blend, just a hard working, honest, low priced effort. I'd judge it differently than I would a $50 cake of lao banzhang.
At $16, I've had a lot worse. In fact, most of them were.
Fair enough - I'd say it compared well to the teas I've tried in the $15 - $20 range.
While I like the Dehong brick better - its got nicer high notes and is more fruit-forward, this one has more staying power and I got several very good infusions with it.
expatCanuck
10-24-2008, 12:20 PM
... I dumped out after 12 infusions, which certifies this as a genuine IGP tea ...IGP?
I see a wiki supplement in my future.
IGP?
I see a wiki supplement in my future.
I Gotta Pee
You guys are too easy.
Proinsias
10-25-2008, 01:46 PM
I've now had a few attempts at brewing the tea.
I'm not one for describing flavours but I'll describe the tea as best I can.
I first thought the tea was rather uninspiring. No off tastes, nothing offensive but nothing to shout about either.
After a little while longer drinking my thoughts haven't changed greatly but I am appreciating the tea far more for what it is.
It's clean and crisp with a nice bite to it. The fact that there are no off flavours I can detect makes it more of a treat to brew and explore.
At first I thought: Thanks Hobbes, nice to have a sample around but I won't be buying any. But this is also changing to: hmmmm, might be nice to have around as a good base comparison tea.
Drinking young sheng often feels like intellectual yoga as I try to figure out what is going on. This is a nice tea to enjoy as something clean and fresh with not to much brain strain. There's a fair chance I'll stick a cake in my next order at YS if it's still around, there's also a fair chance with such a large sample I'll get something just a tiny bit different.
If it had a little more punch to it I would be far more impressed.
All in all very nice tea for very little money.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.0 Copyright © 2013 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.